Lending a hand: advisory groups serve community

Though ARHS has always used advisory time to talk about important issues and bring the student body together as one, many advisories have taken the next step and have begun organizing community service projects.

One of the service projects is the Sock Drive, for an organization called Jessie’s House which aids low-income and homeless families in finding food and shelter.

Assistant Principal Miki Lee Gromacki and her advisory in room 307 have worked to collect socks and other items for the shelter.

“Julianna Bowen, a student in my eleventh grade advisory, spoke with DJ Davis and they posed the question,`What is the number one most requested item by homeless shelters?’”

“The answer is socks,” said Ms. Gromacki.

Another project, co-run by dance teacher Tracy Vernon and math teacher Josh Nugent, was a trash pick-up done on school grounds.

The group filmed their clean-up and sent the video as a challenge to five other advisories, daring them to “pick up as much trash as we did in one advisory period.”

Sean Smith, a Latin teacher, took a more literary approach with his advisory. They set up a book exchange shelf outside of room 112.

“It’s a chance to find a new, good read and share books you love with others,” said Mr. Smith.

Many other advisories at ARHS have also taken the initiative to create a wide variety of fun and innovative community service projects.

From big to small, all of the advisories share a common goal: to bring students together while lending a helping hand.